Last year I saw these tree collars in Crate and Barrel. I loved the look but not the price tag. I got a big tub for a fraction of the price... only to find that our tree stand didn't fit in it. Well last year our tree stand broke and we invested in a fancy new one and lo and behold the smaller stand fits in the tub!

The new tree stand has a post for a tree with a hole drilled up the tree trunk. I have to say we are fans of the drill stand now. It's a Stand Straight which also has screws if you don't have a drilled tree. Typically there is half an hour of Aaron laying under the tree fiddling with the stand screws until the tree is nice and straight. With a drill stand and a drilled tree... it dropped down perfectly! We aren't the only ones sold on it... there is an entire article about the marketing brilliance of the drilled Christmas tree.